Buoyed By Good News, Nordstrom Launches Hiring Spree

RETAIL

Barely two months from opening its first Central Florida store, fashion retailer Nordstrom Inc. plans to fill 450 jobs for the new operation within the next 30 days, company officials said last week.

About 400 of the positions -- including sales, customer service, finance and housekeeping staff -- are expected to be filled mostly from the local work force. The rest will be filled by management employees transferred from other stores.

"We want people in Orlando to know that Nordstrom is a great place to make a career," spokeswoman Tracy Overby said. "Many employees who have been with the company for years began their careers working entry-level jobs, then moved up into management positions."

Seattle-based Nordstrom is scheduled to open Oct. 11 at Florida Mall in southwest Orlando. It is one of five upscale retailers slated to enter the Orlando market in the next 60 days. Lord & Taylor, the flagship chain of May Department Stores Inc., plans to open Sept. 6 at Florida Mall.

The Mall at Millenia, set to open Oct. 18 at Interstate 4 and Conroy Road, will include anchors Bloomingdale's, Macy's and Neiman Marcus.

Although sales growth has withered for many department-store retailers during the past year or so, Nordstrom hopes it will still be riding a modest wave of good news when the 166,000-square-foot Orlando store opens.

Last week, the company reported same-store sales rose in July for the third consecutive month. Although the increases were far from robust (an average of 2 percent), it was a feat none of Nordstrom's fashionable peers could match.

Federated Department Stores Inc. -- owner of Bloomingdale's, Macy's and Florida-based Burdines -- had declines in all three months, as did May Department Stores. Saks Inc., owner of Saks Fifth Avenue and Parisian, had lower sales in two of the three months, as did Neiman Marcus.

Nordstrom opened its first Florida store two years ago in Boca Raton, followed by a Tampa store last year. The company plans to open a Coral Gables store next month and a Palm Beach store in 2003.

Nationwide, the 101-year-old company operates 83 full-line stores, 46 value-price stores called Nordstrom Rack and one clearance store called Last Chance.

Year-to-date revenues are $2.94 billion, up 4.8 percent from $281 billion in 2001, according to preliminary figures. First-quarter sales totaled $1.25 billion, up 2 percent from the year-earlier period. Nordstrom recorded a quarterly loss of $11.2 million, compared with a gain of $24.8 million in first quarter 2001. The company plans to announce second-quarter earnings Wednesday.

Some retail industry experts say the company's outlook is favorable because Nordstrom family members have returned to senior management positions after management by outsiders in the late 1990s.

"Nordstrom had always focused on the need to offer better service and provide customers an experience that was distinct from other shopping venues," said Russ Jones, vice president of the retail practice of Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, a consulting firm based in New York. "I think when they brought in the outside management, the emphasis was very heavy on operational efficiencies, standardization and driving down costs.

"With the Nordstroms back in executive decision-making roles, I expect they'll be able to tilt the balance back to the service side."